View source for George McKendree Steele

{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name            =
| image           = George McKendree Steele (1823–1902).png
| alt             =
| caption         =
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1823|04|13}}
| birth_place     = [[Strafford, Vermont|Strafford]], Vermont
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1902|01|14|1823|04|13}}
| death_place     = [[Kenilworth, Illinois|Kenilworth]], Illinois
| burial_place    =
| occupation      = Educator, clergyman, politician
| awards          =
| spouse          = {{Marriage|[[Susan J. Swift Steele|Susan J. Swift]]|July 1, 1852|September 4, 1895|end=d.}}
| children        =
| education       = [[Wesleyan University]]
| signature       =
| party           = [[Greenback Party|Greenback]]
}}
The Rev. Dr. '''George McKendree Steele''', D.D., LL.D. (April 13, 1823 &ndash; January 14, 1902) was an American educator and [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister, president of [[Lawrence University]] in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1865 to 1879.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news |title=Death of Dr. G. M. Steele |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65592882/george-mckendree-steele-1823-1901/ |newspaper=The Post Crescent |date=January 15, 1902 |location=Appleton, WI |page=3 |accessdate=December 19, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> He was the author of the 1876 pamphlet ''The Currency Question'' – regarded as a major statement of the philosophy of the [[Greenback Party|Greenback movement]] – and was a Greenback Party nominee for Congress and other public office.<ref>[[Ellis Baker Usher|Usher, Ellis B.]] [https://archive.org/details/greenbackmovemen00usherich ''The Greenback Movement of 1875–1884, and Wisconsin's Part in It''], Milwaukee: Ellis B. Usher, Press of the Meisenheimer Company, 1911; pp. [https://archive.org/details/greenbackmovemen00usherich/page/4/mode/1up 4], [https://archive.org/details/greenbackmovemen00usherich/page/38/mode/2up 38–39], [https://archive.org/details/greenbackmovemen00usherich/page/41/mode/1up 41]</ref>
== Biography ==
Steele was born in [[Strafford, Vermont]] on April 13, 1823,<ref name="Obit"/> one of seven children of Joel Steele (a Methodist minister) and Jerusha (Higgins) Steele.<ref>Palmer, Albert B. [https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofme00palm_0 ''A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wellfleet, Massachusetts''] Published By The Leaders And Stewards. Boston: Franklin Press: Rand, Avery, & Company, 1877; p. [https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofme00palm_0/page/14/mode/1up 14]</ref> He spent his youth on a farm in his native town, with little formal schooling; but was able to attend [[Newbury Seminary]], after which he taught briefly and then entered the [[Wesleyan University]], from which he graduated in 1850.<ref name="Obit"/>
He spent three years thereafter (1850–1853) as a teacher of [[Latin language|Latin]] and [[mathematics]] at [[Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy]] in [[Wilbraham, Massachusetts]], and married [[Susan J. Swift Steele|Susan J. Swift]] on July 1, 1852.<ref name="Obit"/>
In 1892, Steele and his wife moved to [[Auburndale, Massachusetts]], when he accepted a professorship at Lasell Seminary (now [[Lasell University]]).<ref name="AppletonPost24oct1895">{{cite news |title=The Late Susan J. Steele |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/appleton-post-the-late-susan-j-steele/126346645/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=Appleton Weekly Post |date=24 October 1895 |page=3}} {{open access}}</ref>
He died in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]] in 1902.<ref name="Obit"/>
== References ==
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[[Category:1823 births]]
[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Methodist ministers]]
[[Category:American Methodist clergy]]
[[Category:Educators from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Presidents of Lawrence University]]
[[Category:Wisconsin Greenbacks]]
[[Category:People from Strafford, Vermont]]
[[Category:Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century American educators]]
[[Category:19th-century American clergy]]
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